Rashford set to be snubbed for SPOTY

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MARCUS RAShFORD is set to be omitted from the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist despite being the bookies’ odds-on favourite to win the award. The Manchester United star has been tipped to claim the prize in December following his high-profile and popular free school meals campaign. But Sportsmail understands Rashford, 22, is likely to miss out based on long-standing criteria for the award which state that the shortlist must reflect ‘sporting achievements’. A judging panel will meet next month to decide the shortlist and, while the criteria for 2020 has not yet been confirmed and the panel have the right to make alterations, it has been set in stone for several years. It is not anticipated to change unless there is a reaction to public pressure. BBC bosses are aware of the potential for a backlash if Rashford is not included and would look to honour him in

IF It takes place within the usual parameters, this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year will be a shell of an event — a gathering to celebrate achievements in fields hollowed out by the pandemic. No Olympics. No Euro 2020. Five months of sport played out in ghostly, deserted stadiums. But through the grim march of recent months, Marcus Rashford has been a saving grace, demonstrating the power of sport to leverage change because of the monumental role it occupies in the lives of millions. that is why the BBC would be venturing deep into the realms of the ridiculous if it ruled that Rashford’s achievement did not fit within the voting parameters for the award. In this of all years, the event has a chance to celebrate qualities transcending goals, assists and laps of a track. Some will no doubt present the specious — and preposterous — argument that shortlisting the 22-year-old would impute some kind of BBC support for what he has had to say about the iniquities of Government social policy. Rashford’s message has extended way beyond the evidence-based case he has painstakingly posited in support for this country’s poorest children. He has touched upon the values of humanity, kindness and civility, too. On Saturday, he posted a message about the abuse that those MPs challenging his view, and their families, had received on twitter — women in particular. He knew ‘all too well what that feels like,’ he said. So it must stop. ‘Disappointment is a national reaction but we must rise above it.’ Spoken with the same authenticity and quiet authority which has made his contribution such a compelling part of the national narrative these past few months. Rashford continued to do more of the same yesterday. He could have lashed out and invited a twitter pile-on when Health Secretary Matt Hancock wrongly claimed on national television that the Prime Minister had been in touch — when No 10 has actually lacked the decency to respond to Rashford’s request to meet. He kept to higher ground, politely but firmly challenging the truth of the minister’s statement. In the narrowest sporting sense, there are alternative candidates for the BBC’s end-of-year award. Lewis Hamilton, Jordan Henderson, James Anderson. But none can hold a torch to the spirit and sense of Rashford — a footballer who has shown that sport can challenge, shine a light and play a part.